Sunday, March 24, 2013

I guess you know that you're in a super-hero universe when you get one of those "Stan Lee Presents"-type mini-origin boxes right above the story title:

Heck, Constantine even has one of those logo-bearing caption boxes in that DC requires in case we can't figure out who exactly is narrating at us:

I think that 's supposed to be a "C" there...the coloring isn't doing the concept any favors here.

(Of course, if the reader can't identify who is narrating, that suggests the writer and/or artist aren't doing their job too well, or that the reader is kinda dumb, so it's kind of an insulting convention. Thanks, DC!)

Also, magic is really, really corrupting. Take this (which was in the preview published last month, so it's not much of a spoiler):

So Sargon, Zatara, Mister E, and Tannarak have set themselves up as "would-be gods" and set out on an "extinction agenda"? Yeah, because the nu52 already has too many mystical heroes, so let's turn the rest into bad guys!! (Yes, I know Tannarak was always a bad guy...I'm riffin' here! And yes, I know about Books Of Magic era Mister E. Quiet now. ) Well, at least Constantine will have super-villains to fight, right?

Of course, given the ballyhoo about moving John to the nu52, this book really has frak-all to do with the nu52. We know the writing assignments was jiggered around before the first issue even came out (Yay, DC management style!), so it's hard to know who was responsible for what, but Lemire and Fawkes are credited here, and of course they currently write JL Dark. JL Dark, which is chock full of magic users. JL Dark, in which we've never seen mentioned this theorem that magic corrupts everybody, eventually,so we should be concerned every time Zatanna opens her mouth.

Heck, JL Dark is never even mentioned in this issue, nor are any of the other nu52 mystical characters. So maybe not the best start in tying into this universe you were so eager to have Constantine join, is all I'm saying.

Still, as I tweeted earlier in the week, "If you can pretend that he's not the real JC, and ignore the damage to other DC magical characters, it's not entirely awful."

Slay, Monstrobot of the Deep

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I'm old enough to remember when comics were "Still Only 25¢!!"
The first comic I ever purchased on my own was Fantastic Four #170--the Thing in an exo-skeleton!! Luke Cage hired to fill the FF to 4!! The Puppet Master!! Boy, was I confused. Boy, was I hooked forever.
Contact at snell27[at]excite[dot]com